Riley Vetterkind, @email
MADISON – The Wisconsin Elections Commission on Friday reported a nearly 40 percent increase in in-person absentee voting (IPAV) compared to the same timeframe in 2020, as IPAV got underway in Wisconsin this week.
Further, as of Friday morning, nearly 1 million total absentee ballots have been requested by voters, with more than 715,000 ballots already returned to clerks, either by mail or by those voting in-person absentee. The IPAV process opened to voters on Tuesday, Oct. 22, and the numbers immediately began surging, according to WEC officials.
“The rate of in-person absentee appears to be at a higher rate than previous elections,” said Meagan Wolfe, WEC Administrator and the state’s chief election official. “Of course, it’s possible that the pace may slow in the days ahead, but the first three days of in-person absentee voting were exceedingly high.”
Of the 715,395 absentee ballots returned so far, 292,702 were via IPAV, meaning those voters went to their clerk’s office or another designated site to cast their absentee ballot in person. Those numbers constitute the 39 percent increase in voter activity in the same timeframe compared to the 2020 presidential election. By comparison, the WEC reported on the morning of Friday, Oct. 23, 2020, that only 209,665 IPAV ballots had been cast during the first three days of IPAV that year.
Wolfe said at this point, after just three days of in-person absentee voting, the total absentee numbers for 2024, including both by-mail and IPAV ballots, have eclipsed the total number of absentee votes cast in the general elections of 2016, 2018, and 2022.
“We knew this was a high-interest election, and so far, the absentee numbers are certainly demonstrating that,” Wolfe said. “Election officials across the state deserve enormous credit for their efficient and careful handling of the incredible rush of voters they have worked with his week.”
The comparison of this year’s absentee voting so far to the total absentee votes cast in recent presidential elections looks like this:
2008 – approximately 640,106 total absentee ballots, 21.3 percent of total ballots.
2012 – approximately 665,338 total absentee ballots, 21.2 percent of total ballots.
2016 – approximately 824,736 total absentee ballots, 27.5 percent of total ballots.
2020 – approximately 1,968,471 total absentee ballots, 59.7 percent of total ballots.
2024 – approximately 921,832 total absentee ballots requested so far, including three days of in-person absentee voting.
Clerks can offer in-person absentee voting through Sunday, Nov. 3, but no later than that. The WEC urges voters to contact their local clerk’s office to learn about the days and times when IPAV is available in their community. For voters still planning to mail in their absentee ballot, WEC officials urge them to mail their ballots no later than Tuesday, Oct. 29 to allow one week for the ballot to reach the clerk’s office. All ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 5, in order to be counted.
Absentee statistics can be viewed on the WEC website here: https://elections.wi.gov/statistics-data/absentee-statistics